Newsletter 02.10.26

Diary Dates

Term Dates

Dear Parents/Carers,

We have had a busy fortnight at Ardley Hill Academy! With so many lovely things going on for the children and some super learning taking place.

Some children in Years 5 and 6 took part in Bikeability sessions last week, which they all thoroughly enjoyed. It is so important that children are confident and safe when travelling on their bikes and these sessions are so valuable in supporting this. We were all incredibly proud of how well the children participated in these sessions. The Bikeability leaders fed back to the school about the exemplary behaviour shown by all children in these sessions. Well done Years 5 and 6!

Thank you to those who have responded to our REACH values Google Form. It is so important to us that school, home and children can all work together to achieve the very best for the pupils during their time at Ardley Hill and beyond! Thank you for sharing your ideas, which I have now compiled alongside the staff and children responses. This week I spoke to the children about why we have values and why it is so important that we are al agreed on what these should be. The new REACH values will be announced to the children on Monday morning and emailed to all parents and carers too.

Year 4 parents were invited to attend a session on the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) on Wednesday. The session was excellent and we appreciate the time that many parents and carers gave to supporting their children with this. All Year 4 pupils nationally sit the test in June and the information session served to update you further on this, alongside some ideas of how you can further support at home.

We were also pleased to share the Home School Agreement for 2026/2027 with you all today. Children are all aware of this agreement as it has been shared with them in assembly. We ask that you complete the Google Form to sign the agreement please. We are pleased to work in collaboration with you as parents and carers to ensure the children receive the very best opportunities and education.

Finally, this week Mrs Trevor and I had the pleasure of visiting lessons across the school. It has been lovely to see the children so engaged and enthused in their learning. We have only been back at school for a month and already the progress and keen, hardworking attitude of the children has been wonderful to see. Thank you to our wonderful teaching team and support staff for providing such fantastic opportunities for our children.

I hope that you all enjoy a lovely weekend with your children, we look forward to seeing everyone on Monday,

Kind regards,

Mrs Katie Waterman

Head of School

Attendance-Paddington Bear

Each week in our whole school assembly we celebrate children's attendance by the winning class for that week receiving Paddington Bear to sit pride of place in their classroom. The class with the highest attendance figure is rewarded with a class prize.

The winning class for this week is:

Week of 21st September: Australia Class class with 98.71% attendance

Whole school attendance : 95.4%

Week of 28th September: Brazil class with 97.35% attendance

Whole school attendance : 95.2%

Our whole school target attendance for this academic year across all classes is 97%.

Allergy Form- 1 FORM PER CHILD MUST BE COMPLETED

If you have not already please complete the allergy form below. We need a form completed for each child even if they do not have an allergy, this is to make sure our information is kept up to date.

Allergy Form

New date- School Photos

November 2nd is a training day, sorry for any confusion caused in our previous newsletter.

School photos will be taking place on Wednesday 25th November, this will include sibling photos.

If your child/ren normally have P.E on a Wednesday please send them to school in their full winter uniform with their P.E clothes to change into.

If your child is not normally in Preschool/nursery on a Wednesday they are still able to have their school photo taken. If you come to the main school office for 9am.

Harvest Festival for Grandparents

We are delighted to be able to hold our annual Harvest assembly for Grandparents at Ardley Hill Academy on Monday 19th October.

At 2:15pm-2:45pm, the harvest assembly for grandparents with tickets for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will begin. Refreshments from FOAH will be served following this before the next assembly begins.

At 2:50pm-3:25pm, the harvest assembly for grandparents with tickets for Year 3,4,5 and 6 will begin. If you have grandchildren in both assemblies, please remain in the hall. Refreshments from FOAH will be served following this.

Pupils from Reception to Year 6 will be performing songs related to Harvest.

Due to restrictions on numbers, we will be providing just 2 Grandparent tickets per family.

Harvest Festival Form

Harvest Donations

This Harvest season, we are excited to invite our students to participate in a fun and impactful community event: The Great Cereal Domino Challenge!

We are asking every student to donate one unopened, standard-sized box of cereal by Monday 19th October.

During that week, all the donated cereal boxes will be lined up throughout the school hallways to create a massive, falling domino run! Afterwards, 100% of the donated boxes will be delivered to The Salvation Army to help support families in our local community.

How to participate:

What to send: Any unopened, standard-sized box of cereal.
When to bring it: Please have your child bring their box to their classroom by Monday 19th October.

Thank you so much for your generosity and support in making this Harvest donation a fun and memorable experience for our children while helping a wonderful cause.

Kind regards,

Mrs Khan, Miss Hibbins and Miss Murphy